Loft Insulation

mark206000

Hi,

Need more loft insulation ! Mine only has a light dusting of insulation at the minute at the house goes cold soon after the heating goes off

Is there anywhere does it at a reasonable price ? Had a check in a nearby Homebase as the Homebase and B&Q websites show the susbsidised english prices of £3-£10. Instore cheapest I could see was £27 :mad: I'd need about 10 rolls.

Do they maybe sell it off cheap after the winter ?!

Thanks !
Mark

psybear

Check out the PowerNI website. Currently they are offering a £150 grant towards loft insulation - not means-tested. They send out a surveyor - provided the cost is over £250 you get a £150 grant. You don't have to be a PowerNI/NIE customer. Scheme is stopping soon but provided you have paid your 25% deposit, you will get the discount/grant.

sheerdelight

You need at least 270mm of loft insulation as soon as possible. You cannot avail of reduced price at B&Q (&Homebase?)as it only applies to GB customers. Yes you can order it up on their website but try and collect it and you will be charged full price.
No point in waiting until the new year to save a small percentage next spring or summer. It is freezing outside at the moment and the average house will lose 25% through the roof.
I can't see there being a big difference in price for this stuff though some is easier to use than others -some iscovered in light film so you don't get covered in glass fbre. Recycled PET is available and pleasant to use but definitely darer than glass fibre.
Ona personal rant the "Folks on the Hill" should be making adequate insulation compulsory and getting this done for folks. Nothing they can do will change the price of oil or gas or leccy whereas insulation will pay returns for us all. They should also be ensuring new houses have much superior insulation. If a tenth of the increase in price/value of new homes over the past 10 years before the bubble burst had been out into insulation they would cost virtually nothing to heat.

mark206000

I'm not powerni, i'm budget energy ! I'll have a look at that, thanks.

Just did, says:
Available to the following people:

• Single person household with an income / pension less than £18,000 gross or
• Couple or single parent family with an income / pension less than £25,000 gross or
• Single person household / Couple with an income / pension of less than £30,000 gross and over 70; and
• You must be a homeowner or private renter.

I wouldn't get it




I'd say I have 10mm at the most, with big gaps around the downlighters. I'll call into B&Q i'm sure they'd have more on offer than Homebase does.



I know it makes a big difference but we've only just moved in so we're skint !


Thanks !

Mark

mcclim

if you have big gaps round the downlighters which is needed due to the heat of them. You can buy an adapter from must electrical wholesalers that lets you put insulationb over the dowbnlighters giving you better coverage.

KiwiCoop

I've tried contacting Power NI about this grant via website, phone etc with no joy. Was told by a Belfast insulation company that the grants have finished which would explain them not bothering coming back to me. Good of them/the govt to stop grants as winter takes hold...

highrisklowreturn

Buy a woodburner. Why insulate? Just use more energy more efficiently instead.

Scania_Man

highrisklowreturn wrote: »

Buy a woodburner. Why insulate? Just use more energy more efficiently instead.

No point in paying to heat a house and losing it through the roof. Insulate first then buy a wood burner etc. No point in having a real efficient fuel source and then letting the heat dissipate from the building as soon as its produced because of lack of insulation

GlynD

Mark you're doing the right thing. I'm presuming you own the house and have an income and that's why you're entitled to nothing? It's worth going into debt for though I can promise you that. For a couple of hundred quid you will be twice as comfortable and quite possibly save the money back on heating costs in the short term. Our wee bungalow got done during the summer and you can't stick the heat in it at the moment and, critically, it holds the heat for hours afterwards.

Do it mate, take the bull by the horns and stick it on your credit card or get a wee short termer from the bank.

A.L.D.A

Mark, If you do it it will probably make a fair difference to your heating bill and comfort.

I assume that is a normal pitched roof. You could probably do this yourself.


If so aim for about 300mm quilt. A layer between the ceiling joists which you probably already have and a layer at right angles over them. Things to look out for;

1. Maintain 50, vent gap at the eaves.
2. Insulate all pipes in the roof.
3. Do not insulate below any cold water storage tanks.
4. Form a box around the storage tank with 150mm Xtratherm Thin-R (or similar, Quinn Therm etc.). It is easy to do! You can push the nails in. Does not have to be too fancy, just no gaps.
5. Use a mask, goggles and gloves if handling quilt. Better still get a disposable overall. I find rockwool less irritating than fibre glass.

Work out the quantities you need and phone round the builders suppliers. Tennants Ravenhill Road, Lowdens, Corry's etc and see who is cheapest. You will get the area covered per roll by Goggling it. You will not get many rolls in a car may take a few trips opr get them delivered.



Can't understand why more people do not use Builder's merchants. They are not going to turn anyone away!


Check on draughts in the house. Many can be easily reduced cheaply.

A.L.D.A

highrisklowreturn wrote: »

Buy a woodburner. Why insulate? Just use more energy more efficiently instead.

That only makes sense if;

1. You have a reasonably well insulated house in the first place.
2. Live in a building where the cost of increasing insulation is prohibitive.
3. Have a cheap source of wood.

I agree that the first place we should look if we are considering reducing heating bills is how the heat is produced and the controls, but if the structure cannot retain heat then you may as well invest in extra jumpers, thermal underwear, gloves and woolly socks.